Miraculous Recovery from Near Fatal Car Accident

I decided to join this support group to be a part of a community where everyone is experiencing and going through the same emotions and feelings.

A story that I would like to share that I have found so much inspiration from, is the story of Brian Boyle. His story can help so many people on so many levels because there are so many components to his story - miracle, hope, positivity, faith, recovery, the never ending love of a family, determination, athleticism, gratitude, and the list can go on and on. The whole message that he carries with him is to make a positive impact and spread the message of hope since his recovery from his coma. He works with the American Red Cross (was just awarded Spokesperson of the Year for 2009), with Lance and his LiveStrong foundation, he speaks in behalf of the hospital that saved his life and is just the most inspirational and grateful person that I have ever read about. I'd be so grateful if you could post his story on your site because I know his story can make a positive impact on others the same way it has made on my life.

Recent Interview I found on Brian:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33196387/ns/today-today_books/

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His Story:

On July 6, 2004, eighteen-year-old Brian Boyle was driving home from swim practice. He lived with his parents in Welcome, Maryland, a small town near the Eastern Shore. The roads are narrow and windy in this rural part of the state. At one intersection, a speeding dump truck plowed into his Camaro, totaling the vehicle and practically costing Boyle his life. He suffered massive internal damage and lost 60 percent of his blood. A helicopter whisked him to a local hospital with a state-of-the-art trauma unit. Doctors had to jumpstart his heart eight separate times during surgery. To lessen his pain, the medical staff also put him in a chemical-induced coma which lasted two months.

With his mother and father sitting vigil at his bedside, the prognosis looked grim for the former bodybuilder and competitive swimmer who would end up losing 100 pounds. Had he suffered any brain damage? Would he ever talk or walk again? Would he always remain in a lifeless vegetative state? Imprisoned and with no memory of the accident, he was unable to speak, blink, or signal to anyone even though he could hear the doctors, nurses, and his parents talking in his hospital room.

Heres Brian recollection from this period when he found himself inexplicably trapped inside the coma, medically known as being in a locked-in state:

It was a little over a month and a half when I started to regain consciousness to the point that I knew what my surroundings were and I wasnt hallucinating. But this was before I started talking. Once they put me in a comatose state, the doctors didnt know that when I woke up if I would be mentally okay; if I would be able to function; if I would be able to walk or sit up or even do anything without having to be helped. I was pretty much going to be a vegetable, and thats what they were predicting. I remember one day this doctor talking to my parents in my room about me having to go to a nursing home, because thats where I was going to be spending the rest of my life, and I remember hearing that and being totally conscious of what he was saying; I didnt like the sound of that and realized I dont want to spend the rest of my life in a hospital bed in a nursing home. Im mentally here, but nobody knows that because I cant communicate. Im paralyzed. I cant move my fingers. I cant blink. I cant do anything but lie here and just suffer. I was trapped. I was in a mental prison. I could not get out or tell anybody that I was okay. I was just hoping that they werent going to pull the plug on me because I didnt know what the hell was going on. I couldnt do anything. I screamed from the inside. I tried to do everything I could. I really tried hard, but it just wasnt working.

Some days I would sleep. I would be in and out of consciousness. I was once awake for about a week; perhaps I dont know if I were actually awake, but my eyes were open for the whole time, so I was sleeping while my eyes were open. It was horrible. Just horrible stuff. I was so weak that I couldnt even close my eyelids. The nurses would have to put some kind of saline solution or Vaseline ointment on top of my eyelids.

Miraculously, however, Brian managed to unlock himself from this hellish solitary confinement, of reaching the other side of the coma barrier, and gratefully rejoined the land of the living. His reentry began with a faint smile, the weak moving of an index finger, of saying a few words.

Within several weeks, he was making rapid progress, undergoing daily hours of rehab where he had to relearn such basics as eating, speaking, showering, using his arms, and walking, But he also set out to achieve what seemed like two impossible physical challenges: joining the swim team at St. Marys College, and competing in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in Kona-Kailua. Given the severe extent of his injuries, this desire appeared absurd, His doctors were concerned, if not alarmed, by his decision. He had lost his spleen and his lungs were still badly damaged. Yet he accomplished both goals, though it took many months of hard work and incredible willpower despite setbacks, to retrain his wrecked body to become what it had once been,

On October 13, 2007, Boyle crossed the Ironman finish line in 14 hours and 42 minutes 30 months after the catastrophic accident which had actually pushed his heart clear across his chest. Not only had Boyle cheated death, but he had triumphed in one of the worlds toughest endurance events while being shadowed throughout the long, hot day by an NBC television crew.

Following his amazing comeback in Kona, Boyle continued to train hard as a multisport athlete and personal trainer. Hes now a regular competitor on the triathlon circuit and plans to compete again in the 2009 Ironman. Hes also been very much in the media, with newspapers, magazines, television and radio shows interested in his amazing story. Its a saga of limitless inspiration, personal heroism, physical courage, and of course, complemented by the loving support of family and friends. Many were rooting for Brians recovery, and providentially, he didnt disappoint. them. The American Red Cross now seeks him out to speak at athletic events. Mens Health magazine, in its November 2008 issue, named Brian one of its 20 Heroes of Health and Fitness, joining sports legends Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.

His book, Iron Heart, was just published this month and is now available in major bookstores across the nation as well as online.

http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Heart-True-Story-Came/dp/1602397716

Brians story of how he went from coma to Kona is one of a kind, and it is safe to say that this brave young man has no intention of ever slowing down.

im new to daily strength. have been reading in other groups here for other issues and challenges i also face, and realized there might be an accident group which i;ve been reading ever since -- a few days. thank you for posting this. i've been in a hospital bed for more than a year and really need this kind of positive stuff. boring story but i was also unconcious and on a ventilator, etc, and itstill upsets me to think of all that happened from a badly broken--from the hip to the knee--femur, i;ve never gone home and just re-started physical therapy. knowing about the challenges faced by others really humbles me and keeps me on track. just getting through the day is a miracle in itself. t.hanks so much for taking the time to post that story. only got a laptop about a month ago so this is a whole new wonderful world. to everyone out there, please know that if you can go on one second at a time, so can i and your struggle and challenges have one more person praying for you.

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